Massacre of the Innocents shows the scene from which the Holy Family
narrowly escaped. The painting shows a pile of infants slaughtered at
Herod’s command, as well as a circle of violence, with guards trying to
murder children. Note the expressive angularity of the arms and the heads.
Ironically, the scene takes place in front of a baptistery. The scene is framed
by two men—one experiencing remorse, one a horri¿ c executioner with
a sword that was painted with the fresco secco technique in gold that has
À aked off. This scene is horrifying to contemplate because such carnage is
cyclic in human history.
Many signi¿ cant scenes are included on the ensemble of the north wall of
the Arena Chapel, including Christ among the Doctors, the Baptism, the
Wedding at Cana, the Raising of Lazarus, the Entry into Jerusalem, and the
Cleansing of the Temple. The Baptism of Christ was already a time-honored
composition in painting, in both early Christian and Byzantine art. he scene
shows two small island-like patches of rocky shore. On the left, angels hold
Christ’s clothes; on the right, Mary and Joseph watch as John the Baptist
stretches out his hand above Christ’s head, though he does not pour water in
the baptism. The naked Jesus is seen through the water, with both Christ’s
nakedness and the transparency of the water part of the artistic tradition.
A burst of light from the apparition of God the Father above indicates the
divine presence. Jesus raises both arms in a gesture of acceptance.
In the Wedding at Cana, Jesus is on the left, the governor of the feast is
at center, and Mary is seated beside the governor. This scene shows the
¿ rst miracle attributed to Jesus. Jesus, his mother, and the disciples were
invited to the wedding. Although Joseph is not mentioned in the Gospels,
Giotto must surely intend the haloed old man in the corner to be Joseph.
When the wine ran out, Jesus told the servants to ¿ ll the six empty stone
pots with water, then to draw out a glass to serve the governor of the feast.
When the governor tasted the water that had been transformed into wine,
he remarked that at most dinners the host serves the good wine ¿ rst, then
the lesser wine, “but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” This line
foreshadows transubstantiation, the miraculous changing of Christ’s blood
into wine during the Christian Mass—the sacrament of the Eucharist, the
central mystery of the faith. Giotto is as fond of the everyday aspects of the
scene as he is concerned with symbolism. He represents the head steward